Don't avoid it, work with it!

Over an entire year on and we’re still having conversations about the IR35 reform and how businesses aren’t taking advantage of some of the most talented engineers in the building services industry purely because they’re contractors.

The market is on a massive journey with IR35 right now. The reality is, bigger companies that have an increased perceived risk portfolio are enforcing a blanket ban; whereas smaller, more nimble and open minded companies don’t want to alienate a whole resource and community of talent that could hugely benefit their business.

We often find that within these larger businesses, it’s Accountants, HR and Legal teams that are adverse risk, so struggle to see the light through the trees with IR35; but perhaps it’s time to rephrase the question ‘How can I avoid IR35?’ to:

How can I work with this legislation and make it work to my advantage whilst protecting myself as much as possible?

Most of our suffering comes from avoidance. If an engineering or design consultancy is avoiding a resource, out of fear, that will:

Increase productivity Enable the completion of projects on time Allow permanent staff to feel better resourced and therefore happier at work Make clients happier Then the only result will be the opposite. The market is hugely short of available, high-quality, talented engineers that want employment on a permanent basis and this is having a knock-on effect to projects, pipeline and employee satisfaction.

People are the 'magic ingredient' that determines whether a business succeeds or not.

So, what is the solution? As a business: Don't blanket ban a monster resource because you're afraid of the risk involved.

As a contractor: Don't be forced inside IR35 because large companies are choosing to say no to all outside IR35 contractors. There is another solution.

Since the legislation came out in April 2021, 98% of our contract placements are outside of IR35.

These days it seems that we live in a world that can get turned upside down tomorrow. Not having a percentage of flexible workforce at your disposal is a high risk when considered in that sense, no?

If you're willing to place more trust in your employees and be open to things like remote-working and deliver on a schedule of work rather than the hourly rate written on a timesheet, you can do it fairly IR35 friendly.

Director, Phil Hodgson, is available to answer any questions surrounding IR35.